New York Jets: Offensive line must get more push in the running attack

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – SEPTEMBER 07: Brian Winters (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /

If the New York Jets are going to have success on the ground, the offensive line is going to have to step up, says the film.

The New York Jets had a rough time getting anything done on offense against the Buffalo Bills. We did expect this coming in, but it was still a sight to see. The passing game wasn’t able to attack down the field very often and the running game was anemic. 38 net yards rushing will never cut it for any football team on any level. It has to get better if the Jets are going to have any chance of going any better than 0-16.

We could say it was on the running backs. Don’t get me wrong, Matt Forte looked bad. He looked slow. He is also supposed to be Mr. Reliable in the passing game, yet he dropped two passes. Frankly, he looked every bit his age and looked like he is on the downside of his career. Bilal Powell looked quicker but wasn’t able to do anything either. There just weren’t the holes for him to shoot through.

The offensive line, no matter what, is the driving force for an offense. They hide a lot of problems and make decent players look better. If an offense is achieving or overachieving, take a look at the offensive line. Odds are that you will see them doing a fine job. The quarterback is clean and the running backs have room to run. If the offense is underachieving, you see the exact opposite. Without an offensive line, no quarterback can save the group.

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Against the Bills, the offensive line did the running backs no favors. After reviewing the film, it becomes abundantly clear. All afternoon, the Bills front seven kept the Jets from moving them at all, leaving no room in any of the gaps.

Forte may be aging, but there is only so much he can do with no lanes to run. Powell can’t work his speed when there are defenders in his way. The line has to get a push.

We are going to take a look at two plays from the third quarter of week one. One was a run by Powell and the other by Forte. Neither gained any yards and a big reason was that the line gave no room to gain those yards.

Let’s take a look.

All screen shots courtesy of NFL Game Pass (subscription required).

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